INTRODUCTION
Hello, everybody! My name is Alyssa Kaewwilai and I am a current junior pursuing a B.S environmental science major concentrated in geographical information systems (GIS) along with a minor in computer science. I have always had a profound fascination of technology and the natural world and find it amazing how such polar ideas are actually connected in many different ways! For example, with GIS I am able to use digital software like ArcMap and RStudio to create digital maps that build and portray data models and spatial correlations. Many of these maps are used to evaluate animal/plant populations and flood zones although GIS can be applied to a large spectrum of topics. I also have a love of coding because it gives me the power and freedom to create new and unique projects – it always amazes me to see the ideas in my mind spring to life on the computer screen! I am familiar with a number of different languages such as Java, Python, C++, and MATLAB as well as a variety of operating systems such as Ubuntu and Linux. I am also an environmental science research assistant who is working with Professor Wilson to collect and evaluate data like sonograms to see how drone operations effect bird behavior.
Aside from school, I am a proud member of the Gettysburg varsity swim team as well as a number of organizations on campus such as Asian Student Alliance, Gettysburg Environmental Concerns Organization, as well as the Garthwait Leadership Program. I am the current marketing and design program coordinator of the Office of Multicultural Engagement and a member of the digital development and marketing team for all intercultural programs and events.
I am thrilled to be a Digital Technology Summer Fellow and am extremely excited for the possibilities that lay ahead! I am more than grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful team and I am eager to represent Gettysburg College as well as the female community in the world of technology!
DJI Mavic Pro Platinum Drone
MY PROJECT
Gettysburg College has been known for having excessive flooding in certain areas of our campus. This leads to mold and water damage of buildings which in turn costs Gettysburg College large sums of money to repair and maintain its infrastructure. My project’s goal is to target concaved areas on campus that are most prone to flooding in order to avoid such damage and costs. This will be executed by flying a drone around the college campus to take photographs of the campus at various points I will set and assign the drown to fly. Once the photos and data has been collected, it will be stored and used in Pix4Dmapper Pro, a photogrammetry program that will show orthographic views of the campus and its terrain; a virtual replica of Gettysburg College will be created. I will then use a total station to manually check the elevation levels of the college campus to see how close the measurements are to those detected by the drone and Pix4Dmapper Pro. After that, I plan on using a Carvey Inventables 3D carving machine to create a physical copy of the campus and its various elevation levels so that an audience can not only see the data on a digital model but also physically feel the indentations and slopes of the land – this will allow for optimal learning and interaction with the gathered data.
